Although the fee was undisclosed, the sale price was about $100m, according to a source involved in the deal, which is expected to close in September.

In 1999, Condé Nast purchased the Fairchild assets from Disney for $650m.

Consumer websites Style.com and the blog network NowManifest will remain part of Condé Nast.

This is the second time this month that Condé Nast, which owns magazines such as Vogue and Vanity Fair, has sold an asset. It recently offloaded the shopping magazine Lucky, merging it with the online retailer BeachMint. Condé Nast kept a stake in the new business, the Lucky Group.

Meanwhile, FFM chief executive Gina Sanders will remain at Condé Nast parent company Advance Publications in a new role to be disclosed shortly, reported WWD.

WWD had been losing money, according to a person with knowledge of its operations who spoke of confidential financial information on condition of anonymity to The New York Times.

When Condé Nast acquired Fairchild, this person said, the force behind the purchase of Fairchild was the Condé Nast chairman S I Newhouse “who loved the influence WWD held over the fashion world”. Newhouse, 86, recently stepped back from his role at the company.